Substantial effort has been expended by a wide variety of entities in attempting to develop highly effective pesticides, particularly insecticide and/or insect repellents, which are capable of eradicating or controlling insects which destroy ornamental and agricultural plants, crops, trees, etc. or which attack, harm, or annoy humans and animals. Particularly bothersome for humans and animals are blood-sucking insects, such as mosquitos, ticks, fleas, lice, etc. These insects are annoying as well as possibly harmful due to the potential transmission of diseases. Although substantial need has existed in the industry for products which control or eradicate these insects, prior art attempts have failed to provide effective formulations which are capable of fully eradicating or controlling insects, while also being non-toxic to humans and animals.
In an attempt to meet the consumer demand for products of this nature, various pesticides, insecticides and insect repellant formulations have been developed. However, these prior art formulations typically incorporate active ingredients which are highly toxic to humans and to many animals. Consequently, the usable concentration of these toxic chemicals must be reduced, typically to the point of rendering the resulting formulation ineffective in providing the desired killing effect.
Another problem that exists with prior art pesticides is the ability of the insects to become resistant or immune to the pesticide. Due to the highly adaptive nature of most insects and the manner in which pesticides typically function, many prior art insecticides are effective initially, but lose their effectiveness over time due to insect developed immunity or resistance.
Insects which cause injury to plants, crops, trees, food supplies, humans and animals have existed for centuries and have always been considered as pests. Virtually all of these pests are members of the phylum Arthropoda, which comprises about 75% of known animal species. More than 930,000 arthropod species have been described and over 6,000,000 species are estimated to exist.
Of particular importance to the present invention are the species of arthropods found in the classes Insecta, Arachnida, Anoplura, and Siphonaptera. The need for pest control by developing pesticides dates back to ancient times, where fumigation was employed in an attempt to control pests on plant growth. In this century, numerous chemical formulations have been developed. Initially, inorganic metallic compounds were used as the principal active ingredients. More recently, purely organic pesticides have been employed.
One most well-known organic pesticide which has been developed and which had been particularly effective is dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT). Although this compound was found to have extraordinary insecticidal properties and had been widely used as one of the most effective pesticides, its use has now been banned in the United States and in other countries due to its more recently discovered toxicity to humans and animals.
Following the discovery of the efficacy of DDT, numerous other organochlorides, such as cyclodienes were developed as practical pesticides, with further discoveries revealing organophosphate compounds as highly effective pesticides. However, as use of these chemical compounds grew, the deleterious effects of these compounds were also discovered and their use was restricted.
Another group of pesticides that have been employed in the prior art comprise pyrethroids or pyrethrins. Compounds, coming within this classification, have been widely used in a wide variety of insecticides and insect repellant products. However, although originally effective, the pyrethroids are examples of pesticides which are now increasingly ineffective, due to acquired resistance by the insects. Presently, many insects have developed resistance or immunity to the insecticidal effect of the pyrethroids and, as a result, these compounds are increasingly unusable for effectively controlling undesirable insects and pests.
While other attempts have been made to eliminate the toxicity of pesticides or develop non-toxic pesticides, these attempts have failed to provide a completely effective, non-toxic pesticide. In particular, most of these prior art pesticides are non-biodegradable, causing the pesticide to continuously build up in the soil and, subsequently, in the food chain. This long-term build up has been found to be particularly hazardous to the long-term health of the population. As a result, use of many such pesticides has been either banned or severely restricted by recent legislation.
Although the need for an effective, non-toxic, biodegradable pesticide has existed for decades, an effective pesticide has not been realized. As an alternative, non-chemical methods have been used. However, little success has been attained with non-chemical methods. As a result, in addition to these non-chemical methods, pesticides continue to be used in limited concentrations with reduced efficacy.
Therefore, it is a principal object of the present invention to provide an effective pesticide which is capable of providing long-term control and eradication of a wide range of insects which attack or feed on plants, crops, trees, animals, and humans without harming the plants, crops, trees, animals, or humans coming in contact with the pesticide.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a pesticide having the characteristic features described above which is completely non-toxic to humans, animals, and the environment.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a pesticide which effectively functions as an insecticide for killing a wide range of insects as well as an acaricide for controlling lice, mites and ticks.
Another object of the present invention is to provide an insecticide having the characteristic features described above which is completely biodegradable and completely safe for application directly to desired plants, humans and animals.
A further object of the present invention is to provide an insecticide having the characteristic features described above which is not harsh or irritating to the skin of humans and animals and can be safely applied, without harm, to skin, scalp, or hair.
Another object of the present invention is to provide an insecticide having the characteristic features described above which kills insects in a manner that prevents the insects from developing a resistance or immunity thereto.
Another object of the present invention is to provide an insecticide having the characteristic features described above which can be employed as an insect repellant without harmful side effects to the user.
Another object of the present invention is to provide an insecticide having the characteristic features described above which has no adverse effects on the food products produced by treated plants, crops, and trees, as well as no adverse effect on the soil or water.
Other and more specific objects will in part be obvious and will in part appear hereinafter.